Largest football crowd of the season stays loud despite loss

Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller took a knee as the Penn State fans watched the final seconds tick away in the 35-23 loss Saturday. And instead of hanging their heads, they started a loud “We Are” chant.

Many of the season-high 107,818 were still in their seats despite the game being out of reach for much of the fourth quarter, and just a couple short hours before the stadium was electric.

Other than a small smattering of red Buckeye attire in the stands, the whiteout was in full force and the fans were loud.

Freshman Sam Hellman has been coming to games since he was a young child and said he has never seen anything like it.

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Hellman said he appreciated the dedication of the fans throughout the contest.

“I thought it was awesome that everybody showed up early and stayed until the end,” he said.

Even Ohio resident and Buckeye fan Denny Fenske said he was taken aback by the noise level. Fenske had never been to a college game outside of Ohio before but came to show support for his cousin, Penn State linebacker Mike Yancich.

Yancich scored the game’s first touchdown after a blocked punt by fellow linebacker Mike Hull.

And Fenske said the fans were even more excited than he typically sees at Ohio Stadium — commonly referred to as the Horseshoe.

Despite the loss, freshman Victoria Hall said she thinks the team can bounce back and finish the season on a high note.

Hall cited the team’s 0-2 start followed by the five-game winning streak as a reason why Penn State won’t enter a tailspin in the final month of the season. She also said she hopes the attendance number Saurday, which marked the first game with more than 100,000 fans this season, will carry over to the final two home games against Indiana and Wisconsin.